Post navigation

Gouden Carolus Noel ….pours a dark mahagony color w/ a one finger perfect cocoa head. Great lacing on my snifter glass as well. Even when held to light, you can’t really see anything other than orange highlights. The smell is fantastic. Fig, prune, raisin, licorice, and some spices are the main things I get. This beer smells like a holiday beer should. It’s super complex, and just keeps getting better w/ every whiff. Huge malt backbone, w/ just the right amount of fruit, yeast, and spices. All melded into a giant cyclone of Christmas cheer. The only thing I can ding it on is that I’d like to have it be a little less sweet. Otherwise it’s where the smell score is. Feel is decadent. Amazingly complex, smooth, silky w/ a bite at the end. I imagine this beer would age really nicely. I don’t really get any of the 10.5% ABV in this either. Maybe a lingering note in the aftertaste if anything. All in all, a world class brew. I will buy this whenever I find it. Cheers.

Scaldis Noel
It is the custom in Belgium custom to brew a beer a bit bolder and stronger as a holiday gift to loyal patrons. At 12.5% ABV, the little Scaldis Noël bottle contains one giant beer. It has a burnished ruby-copper color and a spicy aroma with notes of caramel and marzipan and peach. The taste is round, with hints of anise leading to a long warming finish. If it is snowing and you have a Yule-tide log—fire it up and sip a Scaldis Noël—Pieter Breughel couldn’t paint a more Belgian scene!

N’ice Chouffe
Pours a dark brown w/ a nice one finger cocoa head. Excellent lacing on my snifter glass. Very murky and dirty looking- like the bottom of a river bed. The nose of this brew is really nice. Dark fruit, citrus fruit, yeast, spices- and none of the 10% alcohol… Not really sure where they hid it. Taste is interesting- I get a lot of spice (thyme?) at first along w/ yeast. It’s super dry though, so that goes away and dissolves into acidity and a nice fruit aftertaste…